Torquay & District
Medical Society

Charlie Thompson is a fifth-year medical student at the University of Plymouth.

From 2024–26, he served first as Education Lead and subsequently President of the Student Torbay Medical Society (STorMS), working closely with Torbay Hospital’s Medical Education faculty to develop new teaching and training opportunities for local students.

Raised on a cattle farm in rural Northern Ireland and later becoming a hobbyist photographer with an interest in lens optics, Charlie found this unusual combination of experience unexpectedly useful in surgical education.

What began with sourcing animal tissues matched to particular operative skills developed into increasingly sophisticated simulation models, including an affordable binocular microscope for microsurgical training that has since also been used in registrar education across the South West.

At Torbay, this and many other projects were made possible by a Medical Education faculty willing to place trust in students and provide both practical support and access to expertise.

Working in partnership with clinicians and educators, STorMS developed a broad programme of medical and surgical teaching and training, delivering dozens of sessions and hosting six conferences over the past two years.

These received national recognition, with delegates travelling from across the UK to attend.

This evening’s session, Students as Partners, will explore what can happen when motivated students are given the support and infrastructure to turn ideas into meaningful projects.

Charlie will be joined by other local medical students presenting two further prize-winning projects from the 2026 STorMS Undergraduate Medical Conference: one tackling disparities in students’ access to project supervisors by matching them with experienced clinicians who share their academic and clinical interests, and another examining the environmental impact of inpatient insulin prescribing.

Together, the presentations will highlight the breadth of opportunities available to students at Torbay, the role of an engaged Medical Education faculty in making these possible, and the importance of the Torquay & District Medical Society’s ongoing involvement in supporting, recognising and rewarding student work through the STorMS Undergraduate Medical Conference.